


12 Days of Snowbarry - '20

by shyesplease



Series: 12 Days of Snowbarry [4]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M, SnowBarry - Freeform, winter fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:20:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 21,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28198320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyesplease/pseuds/shyesplease
Summary: Some winter/Christmas oneshots filled with Snowbarry goodness!
Relationships: Barry Allen & Killer Frost, Barry Allen/Caitlin Snow, Killer Frost & Caitlin Snow
Series: 12 Days of Snowbarry [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1100652
Comments: 80
Kudos: 56





	1. Christmas Memories

Opening up his eyes, Barry was met with the pitch blackness of his bedroom. He craned his head to view his alarm clock, frowning as he noted that it was only 2 o'clock in the morning.

Slowly, his eyes started adjusting to the darkness. He could make out the dresser drawers across the room, the pictures hung expertly along the walls, and that the door to the master bathroom was slightly ajar. Nothing seemed out of place from when he went to sleep a few hours prior, nothing to indicate why he might have woken up.

Shrugging, he closed his eyes, trying to fall back asleep. However, his body did not want to comply; it felt oddly rested for the time. With a frustrated sigh, the speedster turned to his side, hoping the change in position would help him go back to sleep.

"Barry?" he then heard being whispered in the air, making him immediately open his eyes and peer into the space in front of him. "Are you up?" the voice spoke again.

Propping himself up on his elbow, Barry looked over at his companion in the bed. "Sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't," she assured him, and he could faintly make out the outline of her wavy locks and the slope of her adorable nose. "I had been up for a few minutes now, and I can't seem to be able to get back to sleep."

Barry chuckled as his free hand extended to caress Caitlin's bare arm. "Same."

"Quite the pair as always, aren't we?"

"Yes, we are," he answered affectionately.

"I wonder if we both heard something in our sleep."

The speedster shrugged, lips teetering as he thought of what he was going to say next. "Like hearing a certain...clatter…?"

She snorted, and his heart flipped. "Are you referencing the _Twas The Night Before Christmas_ poem?"

"It _is_ the night before Christmas," he pointed out.

"Then shouldn't you be springing from your bed to see what's the matter?"

Barry shook his head. "It's just Santa, right?" he justified as he scooted himself closer to Caitlin, wrapping his arms securely around her frame. "Then I'd rather just cuddle up with you."

He could feel her smile against his neck, making him smile too as he kissed the top of her head tenderly.

"'Just Santa' to you," Caitlin then said, tilting her head back to look at him, "But when I was little, I used to get so afraid of staying up too late, because I thought Santa would know and he'd skip over my house and I wouldn't get any gifts."

Barry chuckled as he envisioned a small, little Caitlin tucked in her bed, fretting over the time and worrying about presents. "I was always the opposite," he humorously shared. "I'd try to stay up so I could catch Santa in the act."

"Of course you did," she commented amusingly.

"Hey now, as an aspiring scientist, I wanted to observe the logistics and mechanics of how he operated," he defended his younger self's motives.

"And how did that work out for you?"

"Uh...well…" he started rather meekly, "I may, or may not, have found my mom kissing Santa Claus on the living room couch one year…"

Without fail, Caitlin bursted into giggles, and his heart did that flippity flip thing again. It always did that when she laughed, especially when she was laughing because of something he said. It reinforced that she was happy - with him - at least in that small moment of time.

"When did you learn the truth?"

"That damned Lexi LaRoche," she admitted with a frustrated sigh. "Her parents told her and she had to ruin it for everyone else in class…"

His hold on her tightened, as if his support now would make up for something that happened years before. "I hated those kids."

She hummed. "I think I was more upset that the bullies weren't getting coal like I had hoped they were every year," she amusingly admitted, causing Barry to chuckle.

"My dad used to buy me these coal looking pieces of candy and give them to me for Christmas every year. But the first time he gave it to me though, I was so scandalized, like 'what did I do that was so bad?'" he shared with a chuckle. "But every year after, I kinda looked forward to it. It was like our inside joke."

Caitlin smiled, watching him tenderly before her eyes drifted a little out of focus. "For a couple years on Christmas Eve, my dad would take me to the local ice-rink while my mother - unbeknownst to me at the time - was wrapping presents. It would be mobbed to the point that we'd only manage to skate a little. But I always loved going, especially when we'd give up skating and just drink some hot chocolate, watching the skaters go by, talking about the most random stuff for a few hours...It was my favorite tradition while it lasted..."

"We could go to the rink some time, if you'd like," Barry suggested, before quickly adding, "Not - not that I'm trying to steal that away from your dad or replace him or anything."

She shook her head, a small laugh slipping past her lips. "I know you wouldn't want to do that," she assured him, her fingertips subconsciously roaming over his chest, just over his heart. "But that does sound nice," she informed him. "How about we go sometime next week?"

"It's a date," he told her. "And that way, it'll be a remnant of the memories with your dad, but still something slightly different."

"Yeah," she confirmed, beaming at the idea. "So…" she then started, looking up at him adoringly, "what was your favorite Christmas tradition as a kid?"

"Hmm," he pondered, before memories of years before surfaced to his mind. "Probably helping my mom bake every Christmas Eve," he answered. "My dad usually worked that day, so it would just be us. She'd crank the Christmas music up high and we'd sing and dance as we made brownies and so so many different kinds of cookies and pies and other goodies…I really loved every moment of it..."

Caitlin's hand reached up to caress his face. "Is that why you like baking so much?"

He leaned into her touch. "Yeah…" he let out breathlessly. "But when I was living with Joe, it didn't feel right...so for the longest time I didn't...but then I asked you to help with Thanksgiving dinner a couple years ago and…"

"We had to call the time of death on a pie," she jokingly interjected, causing him to laugh at the memory.

"I was a little rusty, sure," he defended himself, smirking, "but it was like that magic was back...it felt right again…"

Her lips quivered, her eyes growing shiny. "I didn't do anything special…"

He shook his head, watching her with the utmost love. "You being you was what was special," he told her before kissing her wrist. "Do you remember that first Team Flash Christmas party at Joe's?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I was so surprised to see you guys there, but so happy you were. You made that Christmas a million times better by just being there."

She bit down on her lower lip before confessing, "I'm glad, because I was nervous you wouldn't have wanted us there."

Barry shook his head. "I've always liked having you around."

"Oh really?" she playfully countered, raising her brow at him. "Because I recall a certain speedster trying to avoid me like the plague once upon a time…"

"That was not long after we met and I just didn't want you lecturing me."

"I was _worried_ about you," she stressed.

He tightened his hold. "I know," he told her affectionately before kissing her temple. "And thankfully, I realized that soon enough too. But I meant it, Cait. I always liked having you around."

"Well I sure hope you do, especially now," she commented, looking between them humorously at their very intimate position.

"Oh, _especially now_ ," he guaranteed her as he jovially nuzzled her neck, causing her to giggle, his heart proceeding to flip. "Gahhh, I hate the years I wasted to get here."

She shook her head, her hand a calming presence on his face, rubbing soothing circles along his cheek bone. "I think it's important that we happened the way we did - that way there are no second guesses or what if's - just us..."

He nodded, trying to swallow down that guilt. "I can't wait until we create our own Christmas traditions," he told her, scared but hopeful that she could read between the lines and understand what he was saying. That he wanted to share many Christmases with her - a whole life's worth, actually - but he also didn't want to go too fast considering this development between them was still so fresh and new.

She smiled. "We already have," she told him before leaning up to press a tender kiss to his lips.

"Mmm, you want to wake up at 2am on Christmas every year just to talk about old memories?"

She wrinkled her nose, and God, even in the dark where he could barely see her, she was still adorably radiant. "Maybe we could find a more reasonable time," she amended. "Maybe...before bed?"

Barry chuckled before his eyes turned soft as he regarded the woman in his arms. "Sounds good to me, but just know that I'd wake up at 2am any day just to talk to you."

Her lips spread into a watery smile. "Me too. Always."

He smiled. "So...are you tired yet?"

She pouted. "Nope, not an ounce..."

"Tell me then...what was your favorite Christmas gift as a kid?"


	2. Boyfriend Only For Christmas

After a successful mission, almost everyone was eager to get home considering it was getting pretty late. Given that he was still wired from the fight with their latest meta, Barry volunteered to stay back to shut everything down for the night. His teammates immediately accepted, all making beelines to the exit.

But as he sped around the facility to make sure everything was locked up and shut down, he noticed a luminous light coming from one of the hallways, specifically the one that led to the staff lounge area. Furrowing his brows, he quietly walked towards the room, wondering why the light remained on still.

Once he turned the corner, however, he recognized a familiar figure with beautiful chestnut waves, his defenses instantly lowering. As he walked further into the room, he could make out that she was nibbling on her lower lip as she stared intently into her cup of brewing tea, her mind obviously elsewhere.

"You're still here?" he said, breaking the silence.

Her body jolted up in surprise, slightly jostling her tea. "Oh...Barry...hey…yeah..."

As he got closer, he studied her face, noticing that she seemed distracted and a little apprehensive. "Everything okay?" he inquired as he took a seat next to her at the counter.

"Yeah, of course," she told him, flashing him a grin, though he could tell it wasn't entirely genuine because something else was plaguing her.

"Come on," he urged, nudging her arm, "I know you're lying. What's wrong? Did you get hurt during the fight?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that."

"Did Cisco cancel on our movie night again?"

"No..." she started, trailing off to bite that lower lip of hers as she searched for the right way to tell him whatever was bothering her. "I did something really stupid."

"Caitlin Snow and stupid? I didn't think two things were allowed to be in the same sentence."

A small smile slid across her face at his words as she sent him a grateful glance. "Well, it's true," she told him, shoulders slumping. "You see, my mom invited me to spend Christmas with her this year..."

Barry frowned. "Isn't that a... _good_ thing? I thought you guys were close nowadays."

Caitlin sighed. "We are, but lately every time we talk, she keeps telling me that I need to find someone to settle down with."

" _Yeah..._ I hate that conversation," he said with a wince.

"So...one thing led to another and I may have told her that I had a boyfriend…"

The speedster's eyes widened. "Oh…"

Caitlin immediately buried her face in her hands. "See? It was stupid, but I was just trying to find a way to get her to stop bringing it up, but now she wants me to invite this made-up boyfriend of mine to Christmas too! And if I say no, she'll know I was lying, and I can't have that, but that would mean I would have to find some random guy last minute - who isn't absolutely creepy, mind you - to be my fake boyfriend for a night."

Barry sat there for a moment, processing all the information his personal physician just dropped on him. When he walked in there moments ago, this is definitely not what he thought would be troubling his friend. It was like a plot straight out of the movies.

Taking his silence as admission of her stupidity, Caitlin took out her phone. "It's ridiculous, I know. I'll just message her back to fess up!"

However, with his lightning fast reflexes, Barry covered her hand, stalling her actions. "Wait, no, um...what about me?"

"You?" she let out confusingly. "You what?"

A wave of apprehension washed over him, and he honestly didn't know why he was even thinking this, but nevertheless, his thoughts catapulted out of his mouth without warning. "Why don't I...you know...pretend to be your boyfriend..."

Caitlin thickly swallowed as she studied him momentarily before abruptly shaking her head. "I appreciate the help, but she already knows you, and knows we're just friends."

For whatever reason though, Barry felt persistent. "So? A lot of friendships eventually morph into romantic relationships…"

"Still, I can't ask this of you."

"Then good thing you're not asking."

A small laugh fell from her lips as another smile surfaced across her face, causing him to smile too.

"Come on. We help each other out, right? Why does this have to be different?"

"Because you're going to have to act like you're romantically attracted to me?" she explained, making it sound like the worst thing in the world.

Barry shrugged. He honestly didn't think it would be that hard considering him and Caitlin already had a very touch-based relationship. It would be easy to pass off their hugs and arm caresses as romantic under the right context. Not to mention, he'd have to be blind not to admit that Caitlin was a very, very beautiful woman.

"If you're uncomfortable with the idea, just tell me, Cait," he told her. "But I'm willing to help if you let me."

Caitlin groaned, and he could tell her mind was at war with itself, probably debating the pros and cons and possible consequences and rewards. She scrunched her nose before casting a long glance his way. "Okay…"

A strange warmth filled the pit of his stomach. "Okay?" he confirmed with a growing smile.

"Yeah…" she shyly confirmed. "What could go wrong, right?"

.

Barry was nervous, to say the least. He hadn't sat down since he woke up that morning, instead he was probably wearing down his hardwood floors from the constant walking back and forth he was doing as he tried to prepare himself to see Carla. He had obviously met Caitlin's mother before, but never as her boyfriend, and - fake or not - he wanted to make a good impression and look worthy of her daughter's time. He kept checking himself in the mirror, making sure his hair didn't look too messy and that he hadn't missed a hair while shaving. He must have changed half a dozen times before Caitlin announced she arrived at his apartment complex.

Once he got to the parking lot, he saw Caitlin waiting outside her car, seemingly texting someone on her phone. She was wearing a long, tan winter coat, but it was opened to reveal a beautiful green dress. Her hair was immaculate in soft waves. Her face fresh with a conservative amount of makeup with a natural red blush. She looked utterly breathtaking.

He cleared his throat. "Hey, we're matching," Barry pointed out to announce his arrival.

Caitlin's head snapped up from her phone, her eyes immediately going to the green sweater he was wearing. She closed her eyes for a brief second before plastering on a smile. "Great, we can pretend we planned that," she told him as she ushered him into the car. "Come on, we better get going if we're going to try and beat the worst of the traffic."

.

It had been a reasonable silence for the first 5 minutes of the car ride, one spent with Barry trying to find a decent radio station to listen to and Caitlin making her way onto the highway. But as it prolonged, Barry was determined to fill it.

"So...how are we selling us?"

She frowned as she quickly shot him a confused glance. "Selling?"

"Yeah, you know, like what's our story?"

"Oh," she let out, her expression turning thoughtful. "Ummm, I don't know…what-what do you think?"

Barry blew out a breath, his mind suddenly feeling blank of all words and creativity. "What if...what if I suddenly got jealous over the idea of you on a date? You immediately picked up that something was wrong with me, and after some conjueling, I admitted my feelings? And you felt the same way?"

She snorted.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head, though it felt...sad... "I can't think of anything better anyway, so we're going to have to stick with that."

"Hopefully she doesn't ask a lot of questions."

"Barry," she started, a huff of a laugh miserably escaping her lips, "my mother is a scientist, and you'd be the first boyfriend I brought home since high school. There are going to be questions."

The speedster threw back his head against the headrest, letting out a groan. He wasn't sure how well this was going to pan out if he had to answer a lot of questions. He wasn't a good liar to begin with. He was surprised his identity wasn't common knowledge to all of Central City by now.

As they rolled up to a red light, Caitlin turned to her friend. "If you want to get out and speed home, you can."

He immediately shook his head. "No, I couldn't do that to you. If you're doing this, you're doing this with me. I offered and I stand by it."

Her lips crumpled, relieved. "Thanks," she said as the stoplight turned green and she proceeded. "I think we should just try to keep things as truthful as possible and embellish as necessary."

Barry nodded. Hopefully that would make things easier.

.

As they drove up to Caitlin's childhood home, Barry's nerves increased tenfold. His insides felt like they were twisted all up in knots. And as Carla stepped out the front door, arms wrapped around her center to fight off the chill, his stomach's knots wrapped themselves in further knots.

He watched as Caitlin thickly swallowed."I guess this is it…" she said as she turned off the car and got out. "Hi, mom!"

He watched as Carla welcomed her daughter with open arms, but he couldn't help but notice her curious glance back towards the vehicle. She was probably wondering who the man in the passenger seat was. With a deep breath, Barry opened up his car door too, stepping outside.

"Barry?!" Carla hollered from her spot, a huge grin overcoming her face.

He sheepishly waved as he slowly made his way over. "Hi, Dr. Tannhauser," he greeted her, making a show of holding Caitlin's hand, trying to make it seem seamless, like this happened all the time, while also trying to stop himself from enjoying the feeling since it would be fleeting.

Barry swore Caitlin's mom had stars in her eyes as she looked back and forth between them. "When Caitlin wouldn't tell me who her new boyfriend was, claiming it was a surprise, I was hoping it would be you."

"Mom..." Caitlin embarrassingly grumbled, her cheeks flushed red. The speedster could feel a blush climbing up his neck himself.

"What?" she let out innocently with a shrug. "But alright, let's get in, I was just about to take the turkey out of the oven!"

.

They had all settled around the dining room table - Carla at the head, while Caitlin and Barry sat across from each other. On the table itself, there was enough food to fill a speedster surrounding them even though it was only going to be the three of them. It was like Carla really was banking on Caitlin's mysterious boyfriend to be Barry, for whatever reason.

As everyone started piling their plates, Barry couldn't help but look at the surrounding rooms, trying to imagine how a younger Caitlin navigated them. He saw a study room to the right with numerous books, and he wondered if that is where she did her homework after school. A beautiful, elegant piano was in the corner; he wondered if Caitlin took any lessons or if either of her parents were musicians.

"You play the piano, Barry?"

"Hmm?" he distractingly let out as he turned to Carla, who was swirling around red wine in her glass, watching him amusingly.

"I saw you looking at our piano," she clarified. "Do you play?"

"Oh, no," he abashedly admitted. "I was just admiring it, but my mother used to play though."

She solemnly nodded, and he half wondered if Caitlin had told her mother about his parents, specifically his mother, since Carla seemed to understand.

"Thomas used to play," she said, eyeing the instrument with a reminiscent glint. "He used to play and sing Christmas carols as I cooked dinner."

"Barry sings," Caitlin chimed in for the first time since they sat down.

"Oh really?" Carla inquired, looking at him appraisingly.

"I guess I'm...alright."

Caitlin scoffed. "He's modest," she assured her mom, turning back to him. "His voice is _amazing._ "

Barry dipped his head from her praise, but the compliment left him feeling fuzzy and he couldn't contain the shy grin from surfacing on his face. He was a bit self-conscious of his singing since he obviously had no professional training, but just hearing her confidence in his abilities made him believe he could star on Broadway that second, and honestly, it was that kind of faith in him as The Flash that pushed him through most of the harder times, so it made sense.

"You're a man of many talents, aren't you, Mr. Allen?" Carla said. "No wonder Caitlin snatched you up once you were single again."

"Mom!"

Dr. Tannhauser grimaced. "Sorry," she quickly extended towards Barry. "I hope that wasn't too rude of me to say."

Barry cleared his throat. "It's - It's fine," he assured her, laughing both out of politeness and because Caitlin's ever-growing blush was amusing. And adorable.

"How long have you two been together now?"

Caitlin's eyes immediately found Barry's before she answered her mother. "Officially a week," she answered.

"Oh goodness," Carla said, pressing a hand to her heart. "I didn't know it was still so early. I wouldn't have been so insistent to have you join us."

Barry waved it off. "Dr. Tannhauser, it's really-"

"Please call me Carla, dear."

" _Carla_ ," he stressed, smiling at her. "It's fine, honestly. I already know you and have _known_ Caitlin, so it didn't feel too weird to show up here."

A strange emotion flickered across the older woman's face. "That's right, you've been friends for years...what happened to change that?"

"Uh, well, I had a date," Caitlin fumbling started. "And - and Barry was acting very weird."

"I was jealous," Barry supplied, internally cringing because how he said it felt so scripted. Carla cast him an amusing glance, before settling back on her daughter who was continuing their tale.

"I obviously noticed he was acting weird, went to confront him about it, and he eventually told me that he had…" - she trailed off momentarily to look at him, and a sizzle of something filled the air between them before she quickly diverted her eyes - "...that he had feelings for me," she finished.

"And you always had feelings for him, so you told him you felt the same?"

All the blood that had been rushing to Caitlin's face prior seemed to drain in an instant. "Mom," she muttered, eyes bulging ever so slightly.

Barry frowned, trying to gauge what was wrong, but Carla was already tapping at his arm for his attention. "When Caitlin and I first started talking again, she used to be 'Barry this' and ' Barry that'."

"Mom!" Caitlin hollered again, pointedly not looking at Barry, which confused him further.

Carla merely chuckled. "I get how you guys initially got together, but what I was asking Barry was what changed for him?"

Barry gulped, suddenly on the spot. They hadn't rehearsed this in the car. He desperately glanced over at Caitlin, but she looked just as lost. _Stick as close to the truth._

Taking a breath, the speedster looked at Carla. "Um...I actually haven't even gotten around to tell Caitlin this," he started, and that seemed to pique Carla's interest if the raised brow was any indication. "Cisco, our friend - all three of us usually have a movie night the first weekend of every month. But this month, he had to cancel, because his girlfriend had gotten invited to some Christmas party and he had to be her plus one.

"Well...Caitlin and I decided to still have the movie night, but with just us, and we decided we'd watch _Grease_ ," Barry said, a smile surfacing at the memory. "See, we have an inside joke of sorts involving _Grease_ , so I had looked over at her to gauge her reaction when one of the songs came on...and...and I just found myself finding it hard to look away…" he confessed, cracking a shy grin at Carla, his smile turning softer as he looked over to Caitlin to find her features just as soft, and even enraptured by his tale.

"It was then that I finally allowed myself to see Caitlin as Caitlin and not just another best friend or my attending physician, and truly let myself feel, and I felt something so much more than friendship…"

"And I guess her going out with some other guy not long after that felt like a punch to the gut?"

"Huh?" Barry let out, before recognizing their made up get-together story. "Oh, yeah, yeah, completely."

Carla's smile morphed more into a smirk. "So Barry…"

"Uh huh…" he hesitantly answered, fearful that maybe she saw right through their whole facade.

"Do you cook too?"

The tension nearly dissipated in a second as he laughed. "Um, a little. I've been trying to get into baking too."

"He's still working on pie lattice though," Caitlin interjected with her own giggle, causing everyone else to laugh too.

.

"Oh, I had such a wonderful time with you two tonight," Carla said as she walked them to the door. "Are you sure you can make the trip? I'll be awfully late once you get back to Central City."

Caitlin merely shook her head. "If I get too tired, Barry can drive. We'll be alright," she assured her mom.

"You positive?" the older woman insisted. "I even made up the guest room just in case for you two."

Both of the heroes blushed, avoiding the other's eyes, until Caitlin eventually spoke. "Sorry, mom, but the villains might have taken off for Christmas, but we can't promise tomorrow. So we should really be getting back."

Carla sadly nodded. "I understand…"

"I'm going to start the car," Caitlin told them before scurrying over to her vehicle to do just that, leaving Barry alone with her mother for the first time that night.

Rocking on the back of his heels, he turned to Carla. "Everything was delicious."

Her eyes crinkled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. Also, I'm really glad you came here with my daughter."

"Heh," Barry let out, rubbing the back of his neck. "Well...she's quite remarkable, and I'd do anything for her."

"Which is why you pretended to be her boyfriend this evening, isn't it?"

Barry let out a strangled noise, as if he somehow forgot how to breathe. "Wha - no! I mean, we're - we're really together!"

Carla crossed her arms and stared him down in the no-bullshit way her daughter often did. "You could be if you just told her."

His heart felt like it was ready to beat right out of his chest. "Huh? Told her what?"

"I can detect a lie very easily, Mr. Allen, but the way you talked about my daughter was not. You care about her, and I've sensed that since the first time I met you."

The speedster's mouth was slightly agap with shock, but he stayed silent, unsure if it was a good idea to confirm any of her claims or not.

"Car's ready and warm," Caitlin said as she came back up to his side, her arm hooking with his. "Thanks again for having us, mom."

Carla plastered on a smile. "Of course, and you're both welcomed back any time," she told them, though her gaze lingered on Barry. He gulped.

"Bye!" Caitlin said with a wave as she pulled the speedster to the car with her.

.

After getting through the backroads and onto the main road, Caitlin turned to the speedster.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, probably noticing how quiet he had been since they got in the car and his rigor demeanor.

"Y-yeah…" he let out, trying to loosen up and breathe.

Caitlin snorted. "Really convincing, Barry."

He sighed. He may have kept quiet with Carla, but there was just something about Caitlin that made him want to tell her things. And with the way the moon and the dashboard lights were illuminating her face, it took him back to that night watching _Grease_ in the darkness of her apartment and he could only feel himself falling even harder.

"You know how I talked about our movie night?"

"It sounded legitimate, if that's what you're worried about," she told him with an approving nod. "You did a good job with coming up with that on the spot."

"I didn't make it up though…"

"Oh, I know," she told him. "I mean, we obviously did watch _Grease_ a couple weeks ago, but the thing about seeing me for me and all that was obviously a lie..." she said with a laugh, trailing off to look at Barry when he didn't join in, only to see him hesitantly shake his head.

Her brows furrowed as she turned back to the road, hands a little tighter on the steering wheel. "Did my mother put you up to this?" she questioned with a tinge of annoyance. "I knew I shouldn't have left you two alone."

"What?" Barry let out surprisingly. "Cait, no," he said, stopping only to take one of her hands off the steering wheel to hold. "Cait?"

She swallowed before turning off the nearest exit, quickly putting the car in park once she found a place to pull over. She took a moment to compose herself, before turning to Barry and then to their conjoined hands. Caitlin bit down on her lip, her doe eyes so confused and lost but, dare he wish, hopeful as she looked back up at him.

"What are you trying to say, Barry?"

"That when I volunteered to be your boyfriend for tonight, that I was doing so selfishly, because...because that's what I want, Cait," he confessed. "I want you."

Her breath hitched, but the hand that was in his moved to interlock their fingers. "I - I was being selfish when I accepted your offer, because it's what I've wanted too…"

A huge smile easily sprung to his face, inciting an identical one to appear on hers. He reached over the center of the car, hand going through her luscious brown locks as he gently pulled her into a head dizzy kiss. As they pulled apart, foreheads leaned against each other's fondly, immense happiness and joy erupted from their souls in the form of laughter before they kissed again, and maybe a little more.

"We should probably get back home," Caitlin said eventually, eyeing the clock on the dashboard and noticing the late hour.

Barry playfully whined. "I guess you're right…" he said as he sat back into his seat, knowing if he stayed too close to her that they'd be going nowhere any time soon. "At least now we can tell your mom our relationship is real."

Caitlin, who had started driving again, jerked the wheel at Barry's comment. "Wait...she knew it was fake?!"

Barry rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeahhhh, she might have mentioned that when you went to start the car…"

"She always knew when I was lying, ever since I was a kid," Caitlin grumbled, shaking her head. "I don't know why I even thought I'd try…"

"Hey," the speedster said, reaching out to caress her arm, "at least something good came out of it, right? Who knows how long we could've been circling around each other if your mom didn't make us face our truths."

A smile replaced the frown she had been wearing. "Yeah…" she admitted, chancing a quick glance at him as she drove. "But now my mother's never going to let me live it down either," she said with a groan, and Barry could only laugh.


	3. Open the Door

Caitlin scuttled to their front door, quivering from the cold despite not being out in the frigid weather for that long. She then latched onto her boyfriend's frame, craving any heat he might be able to offer up as he tried to open the front door.

"You still haven't opened it?" she inquired curiously. He had been here for a few minutes already.

Barry sighed, his attention on the keys in his hand. "I can't see a thing out here," he said, eyes squinting as he held up the keys, trying to use the limited moonlight to pick the correct one.

"Hurry up please, I'm freezing out here," she bemoaned, sticking her face in the crook of his neck.

"Whoa!" Barry let out, startled, causing Caitlin to whip her head back confused.

"What? What's the matter?"

He chuckled. "You're nose is like an icicle," he told her.

She scrunched her face down in a peculiar way, showing him displeasure. "Like I said, I'm freezing out here," she reiterated to him. "So until you open that door, you're going to have to deal with my cold nose," she told him before preoccupying her last position.

Barry merely chuckled as he wrapped his one arm around her shoulders, rubbing at them in an attempt to warm her up in some form. "I'm trying, I'm trying," he told her, still trying to pick out the right key. "You're quite the distraction though," he admitted, teasing her.

"Me?" she let out in mock surprise against his neck, feeling his Adam's apple bob at the sensation. "Whatever do you mean?" she innocently asked before peppering a few kisses up his neck and along his jaw.

His breath hitched. "We're never going to get inside if you keep doing that," he rasped, his voice an octave lower and breathy.

She satisfyingly smirked against his neck. "My lips are going numb. I just need some friction…"

Barry tore his gaze away from the keys he had been inspecting to the woman wrapped around his frame. Even despite the low-lighting, Caitlin could see his pupils enlarging with interest. She further smiled as he leaned down, brushing his lips over hers. She cooed at the heat she could feel building up in her body as the kiss continued to progress.

"Mmm," Barry moaned out, tearing himself away after a few moments. "We really need to get inside."

However, just as he said that, Caitlin turned the door's knob and pushed it open with ease.

"How?" he let out, eyebrow raised in puzzlement.

Caitlin lifted the key set in her hand, waving them proudly. "I'm a multitasker," she told him.

Barry shook his head at her in awed disbelief. "You're something else…"

"I'm still cold though," she said, looking at him pointedly as she tugged on his hand. "And the house is rather warm...the bed even warmer…"

His body immediately jolted into action. "I heard body heat is an even better conductor of warmth!" he rattled off the fact, now dragging her through the doorway and finally into their house.


	4. Perfect to Come Home To

Barry opened up the door to his home and was immediately welcomed by the sound of Christmas music blaring from down the hall and the laughter of his family in the next room. He smiled at the sound, his heart squeezing with affection, before he walked towards the noise.

Finding himself in front of the living room, he poked his head through the threshold. He first noticed his wife curled up on the couch, dressed in fitted sweats - her beauty was so transcendent, especially with the glow of the fireplace shining on her; she looked more like an angel than the one they usually put on top of the tree. He then followed her line of sight to their kids, who were by the lit up Christmas tree, hands deep in a box that had all of the tree ornaments in it.

"Decorating the tree without me, huh?"

The kids' heads snapped up at their father's voice before they ran to his side, hugging him tightly. He hugged them just as tightly back. He had been gone for a good week.

"Sorry - we didn't wait," Nora apologized.

"Yeah, sorry, Daddy," Nate piped up. "But Mommy said she wasn't sure how long you'd be and it's Christmas Eve..."

Barry's eyes caught Caitlin's across the room. He sent her a wink before jovially ruffling the kids' hair. "It's fine," he assured them. "You guys have done a better job than I ever could," he said as he assessed the tree.

However, after looking at it a little longer, he cocked his head to the side. "Though, why are there no decorations at the top?"

"We couldn't reach it," Nora said with a shrug as her and her brother went back to the box and resumed decorating.

The speedster turned to Caitlin, lips in a half smirk as he walked closer to her. "And what's your excuse?"

"I couldn't reach up there either."

"In heels you probably could."

"I didn't want to wear heels. Today is supposed to be about _relaxing_ ," she said, stressing on the last word as she stretched out her toes, showing off her slippers. "Plus, it allows you some space to still decorate the tree," she pointed out, watching him knowingly.

His smile softened, now knowing they had purposely refrained from decorating up there so that he could still contribute to the festivity whenever he came back home. It was the little things like that that she did that just made him love her more and more. He then got down to his knees in front of his wife, kissing her briefly as a thank you, and then kissing her again, but for longer, to properly greet her after being gone for so long.

"How was National City?" she softly inquired as they broke away.

He wobbled his head, trying to find a way to phrase it without worrying her too much. "It was hectic at first, as always, but it all kinda wrapped up a couple hours ago. Everything's fine. Another crisis averted."

She nodded her head solemnly, her hands absentmindedly playing with the front of his shirt. "I'm just glad you're home in time for Christmas," she shared, looking back up at him.

He smiled back, nodding. He knew how hard it was for her to sit these big fights out - that she always felt better when she was present rather than just sitting home, waiting for news.

"Why don't you hang some of the decorations," she then prodded him.

He got up to his feet. "You going to decorate any?"

"I did earlier. You do it now."

"You sure?" he asked again while walking to the box.

"Oh yeah," she assured as he bent down to grab an ornament. "This is honestly _the best view_ ," she said, her voice getting a little thick and raspy towards the end, and he knew she only usually spoke that way to him in more _alone_ moments.

Raising a brow, he stood up and turned to look over at his wife, only to find her blatantly checking him out. "You minx," he faux-scandalously mouthed to her, causing her to erupt into giggles.

"Come on," he told her, grabbing her hands and dragging her to the tree with the rest of them. "I want to do this with you, and as a whole family," he told her, handing her the ornament he had previously gotten.

Her face softened, before she complied with the request, taking the little ornament and hanging it expertly on one of the tree branches nearby. And with the whole family now decorating the tree, it was completed in little to no time. To top it off, Barry lifted little Nate to put the angel on top of the tree to officially complete it.

"It looks great!" Barry exclaimed as he stood back with the rest of his family, bringing them in for a big group hug as they admired their work. This really had been the perfect way to come home.


	5. The Basket Maker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, Eve! This is a little AU scenario here, but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you thought of this one-shot by leaving a comment! :)

Caitlin was stressed.

It was Christmas Eve morning and she had yet to find a gift for her mother, who she would be seeing later that evening for dinner. Work had kept her so busy the last few weeks and Christmas snuck up on her this year. Luckily, she was off today so she could try to find something. Unluckily, it being the day before Christmas and all, a lot of stores' shelves were bare of all the good stuff.

Her mother and her were recently trying to move on from their previous estranged relationship, so she wanted her gift to feel personal rather than something menial she only got because it was last minute. Even if that was true in this case.

With a sigh, she sat defeatingly at one of the food court's tables. Instinctively, she took out her phone and opened up Instagram and began scrolling down on her feed. And just as if the app had read her mind, she saw an ad for a holiday basket company. Curious, she clicked on the ad, taking her to the company's Instagram page.

There she saw pictures of numerous baskets of all different sorts, so eloquently put together. One in particular happened to catch her eye. It was a basket in the shape of a Santa sleigh with a couple different flavors of hot chocolate with accompanied mugs and cookies and other Christmas nick nacks too. It stood out to her mainly because hot chocolate was such a staple of the holidays when her dad was alive, and she doesn't quite remember having it since.

But before her mind got too far ahead, she sighed once more. Would she even be able to get this basket on such short notice?

She checked the page, a flurry of excitement coursing through as she saw that it was based in Central City. However, she soon frowned when she saw no connected address or number to call. But...the DMs were open…

 **:** Hi, I just came across your page today and I absolutely love that Santa sleigh basket with the hot chocolate. Would it be possible to purchase one?

 **:** Also, sorry if this isn't the correct means of purchasing. I couldn't find another alternative.

The young doctor bit her lip as she stared at her phone. She wanted a quick response, but she knew considering the day, whoever ran the page might be busy and take awhile.

However, just as she had that thought, she received a notification from the company.

 **AllensSpeedyBaskets:** Hello, Merry Christmas Eve! Do you need this basket by a specific time/day?

The young doctor winced before typing out her response.

 **:** Could I get it by 5pm today?

 **:** That's really short notice, so I'd understand if you can't!

 **AllensSpeedyBaskets:** Last minute shopping? Lol

She blushed. Busted.

 **:** That obvious, huh? I'm not normally like this though.

 **AllensSpeedyBaskets:** It's quite alright. Happens to the best of us. I can definitely get it done for you by 5pm. Would you like it delivered?

 **:** Are you sure this is okay? It feels like a big ask.

 **AllensSpeedyBaskets:** It's fine. Speedy is in our name after all :)

She chuckled and found herself smiling despite herself.

 **:** Thank you so much! As for delivery, could we do a meetup instead? Do you know of Jitters, the coffee shop on Gustin Ave?

 **AllensSpeedyBaskets:** I know Jitters. I'll see you there at 5pm!

She smiled as she tucked her phone away. Mission accomplished. Now she could spend the remainder of her day packing and getting ready for her visit to her mother's.

.

Caitlin strolled into Jitters just a few minutes before 5pm, relishing the warmth of the coffee shop in comparison to the chilliness of the outdoors. Her eyes then scanned the room for anyone that might be holding her Santa sleigh basket, but she didn't see anyone yet. She shrugged it off, knowing it was still technically early, so she walked to the counter to retrieve her bakery order, eyes on the entrances the whole time in hopes to spot the basket.

But as the minutes passed, even after receiving her bakery order and taking a seat at one of the tables where she could watch the entrances some more, no one had come into Jitters with any kind of basket of any kind and it was almost quarter after five. Frowning, Caitlin took out her phone and opened up Instagram. Her frown deepened as she didn't see any new messages from the basket-maker.

 **:** Hey, I'm at Jitters. Is someone coming with the basket still?

She bit her lip as she waited for a reply, but as another couple minutes ticked by, she got no response. A pang of disappointment rang throughout; she didn't so much blame the person if they were unable to complete the order since it was very last minute, but she wished they would have at least let her know instead of ghosting her. That way she could've gotten an alternative gift.

Just as she was about to stand to get ready to go, the front doors were pushed open with a mighty force revealing a lanky man holding a basket in the shape of a sleigh. "I'm here!" he windedly hollered to the whole cafe before bending over, trying to catch his breath.

Everyone in the cafe looked at him peculiarly for a few moments before eventually going back to their own businesses. It was then that Caitlin hesitantly rose from her seat and walked over to the frantic delivery man.

"Are you okay?" she questioned, seeing as he was still breathing heavily; the doctor side of her surfaced to make sure he wasn't going to faint.

Still bent over, he waved her off. "Oh yeah, yeah I'm fine," he assured her through pants. "I - I just ran...I ran the whole way here so…" he explained before looking up at her, eyes widening, his Adam's apple bobbing. "It's - it's you!"

"It's me?" she confusingly asked.

The delivery man finally straightened to his full height, and she could deduct he was a good half-foot taller than her. "The woman from Instagram," he clarified. "The one that bought this basket," he further said, holding up said basket. "I recognize you from your profile picture…"

"Oh…"

"That sounded creepy, didn't it? I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, no, it's fine," she interrupted him with a shake of her head. "For a second there I just forgot that you could see my profile picture and all," she further explained. "So...you work for Allen's Speedy Baskets?" she asked, redirecting the conversation.

"Yes, I'm Barry Allen: Owner, Basket Organizer, Social Media Manager and Delivery Boy all wrapped up into one," he proudly declared, puffing out his chest a tad.

Caitlin's eyes widened a little at that revelation. "Oh, you're the owner?"

"Picturing a retired grandma?"

"Yeah, kinda…Sorry!" she confessed with a slight wince.

Luckily, Barry just chuckled. "It's okay, I get that a lot. But sorry I couldn't be as _Speedy_ as the name suggests. I should've messaged you to let you know I was running late, but my mind was thinking I could become the fastest man alive somehow and still make it on time despite needing to run 20 city blocks with a huge basket in my arms so…"

The young woman shook her head. "No, seriously, it's fine. It was a last minute gift, anyway. You made it faster than anyone else would've attempted," she assured him.

"I still feel bad," he told her. "Let me at least buy you a drink to make up for the time you waited?"

"Uhhh," Caitlin started unsurely, discreetly trying to check the time on her watch.

Barry then hit the palm of his hand to his forehead. "I'm stupid, sorry. You probably have to get going. I won't take up more of your time. Forget it."

On any normal day, she probably would've taken the out and hightailed it out of there, but there was just something about this basket-maker that intrigued her, silently coaxing her to spend a little more time with him.

"Actually," she started, "A drink would be great. I still have a little time to spare before I'm expected at my mother's."

The resulting grin that then manifested over his face was enough for Caitlin to feel good about her decision. "Great, um, so yeah, I'll go get us something to drink," he stuttered out as he clumsily handed the sleigh basket to Caitlin before walking towards the counter.

She amusingly shook her head as she placed the basket down on her table, admiring it as she did. It somehow looked even better than the picture on Instagram. She was sure her mom would love it.

Not long after, the basket-maker was back with two beverages in his hand. "I forgot to ask what you wanted, so I just got us both Flash's," he told her as he put them on the table.

"That's just fine. It's one of my go to's," she assured him.

He let out a smile of relief as he took off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair, revealing a deep green sweatshirt that made his eyes suddenly pop out; they were comforting, like admiring a Christmas tree on a silent night. He then tore off his beanie, leaving his dark locks tousled, but it all somehow just made him more endearing.

"Again, sorry for being late," he said to her as he took a seat across from her. "My ride had a last minute emergency call so I had to hightail it here from the CCPD," he explained to her.

Caitlin raised a brow. "And why were you at the CCPD?"

"I work there."

That further confused Caitlin. "So wait, the basket business isn't your job?"

"No, no, not really. That's just a side business type of thing," he told her. "You can only watch so much Netflix, you know?" he joked.

She giggled. "I pretty much just read, clean and cook on my down time, so I get it," she admitted. "So if you work at CCPD, are you a cop then?" she inquired as she took a sip of her beverage. She didn't think he looked like a cop, but as he pushed the sleeves of his sweater up his forearm, she could detect some muscles on his thin frame.

"Oh God no," he breathed out, making them both laugh. "I'm a forensic scientist, actually."

She let out a sound of approval. "That sounds interesting."

"It's not as glamorous as the show CSI makes it out to be."

Caitlin smiled. "Trust me, I'm a doctor, and you know how many people I've hooked up with on the clock?"

He squinted his eyes, assessing her with a reserved grin. "How many?"

"Zero!" she dramatically proclaimed. " _Grey's Anatomy_ lied to me."

Barry laughed, his Christmas eyes somehow gleaming brighter, like lights were actually glittering within them.

"So a doctor, huh? What kind of medicine do you practice?" he asked, which tailspinned into a whole discussion about their jobs, which bled into a discussion about the latest superhero movies and what powers they'd want, if that sort of thing were possible.

"I don't know," Caitlin said unsurely, tucking her hair behind her one ear. "Maybe...the ability to heal anyone with a touch."

"Such a doctor answer!"

"Well I'm a doctor, what do you expect?" she vollied back.

He rose his arms, gesticulating grandly. "I don't know, something more selfish? Like just wanting to fly so you could travel the world or turn invisible to spy on someone. Like me, I'd want to be able to run fast, since I'm unfortunately frequently late…"

Caitlin narrowed her eyes. "I somehow doubt superspeed would fix that problem," she teased.

Barry stuck his tongue out at her. He then opened his mouth to say something more when one of the baristas approached them, interrupting the conversation.

"Sorry to bother you, but we're closing early tonight on account of it being Christmas Eve," she stated, and it was only then that Caitlin noticed the bumbling atmosphere of Jitters had thinned out to just her, Barry and a few other stragglers.

This prompted Caitlin to quickly look at her watch, causing her to curse as she saw the time.

"Running late?" Barry asked, but his lips were fighting off a grin.

She rolled her eyes. "Yes," she admitted as she got up from the table. "I hadn't realized we were talking for as long as we were."

"I'm sorry!"

Caitlin shook her head at his apology. "It's fine. I'm just due to be at my mother's in 15 minutes and it's about an hour away…" she said with a grimace as she grabbed her bag from the bakery. "So I have to get going."

She was about to grab her basket next, but Barry blocked her attempt. "Let me," he insisted, picking it up. "I feel bad about running late and then making you late for your dinner, so the least I could do is help you take it to your car."

Considering her car was just down the street, the young doctor relented and had him follow her out of the coffee shop and onto the crisp streets of Central City.

"So the basket is for your mother then?" Barry conversationally inquired as he followed her.

"Yup, it's something I hope she'll appreciate since drinking hot chocolate used to be a big family tradition on Christmas Day," she told him over her shoulder.

"Well I hope she enjoys it."

A genuine grin slid across her face as she turned to her companion. "I hope so too," she told him just as they reached her car. "This is me," she told him, opening up the back seat for him to put the basket in.

After getting everything situated, the pair stood in front of each other awkwardly.

"Umm," Barry started, rubbing the back of his neck, "It was really nice to meet you, and - and thanks for the business, obviously," he said with a chuckle.

She dipped her head down, feeling her cheeks reddening just a tad.

"And sorry, again," he added meekly.

She shook her head amusingly. "Stop saying sorry, it's fine," she told him as she slowly made her way to the driver's side of the car.

"Sorry!" he said reflexively, which caused them both to laugh.

She smiled at Barry, hand on the handle, but she just didn't want this exchange to end. "Thanks for the drink."

"Thanks for the company, and I hope you have a Merry Christmas."

"You too," she told him, biting her lip as she gazed at him across the roof, knowing she couldn't prolong this conversation any longer. "I-I guess I have to get going…"

He shook his head, as if he had been in a trace previously. "Right, yeah...um...drive safely!"

She nodded, offering him one last smile, before opening the door and getting in, knowing if she didn't in that moment that I'd take so much more willpower to leave. However, just as she put her gear into drive, she heard a knock come from her passenger-side window.

She reflexively smiled as she saw Barry bent over, looking through her window with a grin, gesturing to her to put the window down.

"Did I forget something?" she asked as the window receded, the coldness already sweeping into the car.

"I don't want to hold you up too much longer but ummm…" he started, the smile on his face turning uneasy, like he was nervous. "I - I just wanted to ask if you could, you know, message me later," he said before immediately adding, "For business purposes of course, because I want to make sure your mom, you know, likes the basket...and all..."

The doctor found herself blushing. "Definitely."

"Really?" he croaked in disbelief before shaking his head. "I - I mean, great. Cool. Um, will look forward to that."

Caitlin fondly shook her head, finding his behavior adorable. "Bye, Barry. I'll message you later," she promised him with a smile and tiny wave.

His smile only grew, dazedly nodding as he stepped back from the car, letting her put her window back up. And as she drove away, she could make out Barry's form in her rearview mirror, waving after her until she was out of sight.

She definitely couldn't wait to message him later. And it wasn't only going to be for business purposes.


	6. Frostbite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to JaneDoe for the suggestion

Barry walked into the Cortex just like he did any other morning. However, this morning in particular was a little bit different. Mainly because Barry had a huge ridiculous-looking scarf wrapped around his neck.

Cisco looked at Caitlin and Caitlin looked back at Cisco, both raising their brows at the new look on their friend.

"Are you cold, Barry?" Cisco amusingly asked.

The speedster's face scrunched up. "No...why do you ask?"

"Oh, well you're wearing…" the long-haired man started and gestured around his neck.

Barry looked down and his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, right...the scarf…"

" _Yeah_ ," Cisco said over a laugh. "Are you trying out a new fashion statement or something then?"

He cleared his throat, eyes darting to Caitlin for a second. "Or something…" he mumbled.

This piqued the interest of his friends even more.

"Bartholomew Henry Allen, what are you hiding?" Caitlin asked, throwing her hands to her hips and staring the speedster down.

" _Oooh_ , she said your full naaaame," Cisco warned. "That's when she's at her scariest."

Caitlin then directed her glare at Cisco, her eyes thinning.

"I - I mean, that's when she's at her... _prettiest_?"

She rolled her eyes, directing her attention back to Barry, eyes softening. "But seriously, what's with the scarf? Did you get hurt?"

"No...no…" he assured her. "I - I just...cut myself a little...while shaving, obviously…" he measuredly said, though it was clear that he was lying. "So I'm wearing this until it heals."

Because Barry had been focused on Caitlin as he explained, he didn't notice Cisco coming up next to him until the scarf was snatched from his neck, revealing multiple circular bruises up and down his neck.

"Or you're hiding hickies, you sly dog!" Cisco hollered with a laugh. "But wait, with your speedy-healing, I thought hickeys like that weren't even possible?"

"I don't know, okay!" he hysterically hollered, plucking the garment back from his friend to wrap it around his neck again, seemingly insecure with the appearance.

Cisco snorted and looked over at Caitlin. "You're being oddly quiet about this."

"Hmm?" she hummed out, eyes wide before shaking her head. "Right, um, Barry, why don't we go into my lab and see why this might be happening, yeah?"

Barry dipped his head, but allowed Caitlin to pull him into her lab. Once they got in there, Caitlin shut the door behind her and locked it, leaving a dubious Cisco looking at them from the other side.

"Doctor-Patient confidentiality," she hollered at their friend, ignoring the way Cisco rolled his eyes as she stepped into her doctor role.

Caitlin immediately directed Barry to take his usual seat on the gurney as she walked to the other side of the room to gather all of her usual check-up equipment. On her way back, she cast a quick glance over to where Cisco was to make sure he had left, sighing in relief as she noticed that he was now on the computer at the console.

However, as she turned to Barry, she bit down on her lip as she slowly unwrapped the scarf from around his neck. Once she caught sight of the bruises, she instantly winced. "I am _so sorry,_ Barry," she said, cheeks pinkening as she gently ran her fingers over the surface of the black and blue marks. "I didn't think it would make marks _like this_ and _for so long_!"

"It's alright, trust me, I am not complaining about _how_ I got them," he said with a fond chuckle, eyes even getting a semi-dazed look as he thought back to that morning.

"But you're wearing a scarf!"

"Only because there are _multiple_ hickies and that it would be weird for me to have _any_ hickies considering no one knows I'm dating anyone, let alone that person being you…"

Caitlin pouted. "Which begs the question, why are they still there when I did this a few hours ago?"

Barry raised his arms, shrugging. "I mean, your nips were cold, but doesn't coldness usually reduce bruise swelling?"

"Yes, but... _uh oh_..." she started but interrupted herself with a thought.

"Uh oh...what?"

"The bites...they were cold…"

Barry tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, I said that…"

Caitlin shook her head. "No, they were cold, so I don't think I gave you normal hickies. I - I think I gave you frostbite…"

The speedster opened his mouth to say something, but no words ended up coming out.

Worryingly, her fingers brushed over the area again, testing the texture of the skin and its condition. "Luckily, because the frostbite was small and that you're a speedster, it seems like it didn't have a detrimental effect, just a longer than normal bruise…"

"So, I'll - I'll be alright then?"

"Yes, thankfully," she said with a sigh. "I'm so sorry, Barry. I won't do it again."

Barry's eyes immediately bulged. "No! Please, _please_ do it again!"

"But the bruises-"

"So worth it," he instantly assured her.

"Bar-ry!"

"What? We'll just make sure we don't have to be anywhere anytime soon," he told her, winking.

The doctor just shook her head as she laughed under her breath. "We'll talk about this later. Regardless, what are we going to tell Cisco _now_? He's going to want an explanation."

"We could tell him the truth," Barry told her as he discreetly went to hold her hand.

"Then he'll know _I_ did _that_!" she said, her cheeks flushing with a mighty red.

"Do you honestly think he'll forget about this by the time we _do_ tell him?"

"No," she answered quietly with a pout. "But…"

"But what?" Barry softly prompted, his eyes wide and gleaming as he gazed down at her oh-so tenderly.

She crumbled. "But nothing," she answered. "Let's tell him."

Barry's face perked, his lips morphing into a dazzling smile that made her fall in love with him all over again. "For real?" he hesitantly asked, his voice trying to veil his excitement, but it was clear as day to the doctor.

"Really," she confirmed, giving his hand a squeeze, before the duo walked out of the lab and into the Cortex to tell their friend.

And if you heard continuous laughter from STAR Labs, well...that was just Cisco being really really happy for them.


	7. Of Antlers and Ornaments

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idea from CleJake99 on Twitter! :)

"Mommy!" young Nora Allen yelled from the top of her lungs up the stairs.

Caitlin quickly sprang to the top of the stairs. "Nora!" she hushedly hollered, putting a finger to her lips when she caught her daughter's attention. "Please be quieter, honey. I just put your brother down for a nap."

The little girl's shoulders shrunk down. "Sorry…" she whispered guiltily.

"It's okay, sweetie," Caitlin said as she craned her neck back into Nate's nursery. "He's like your daddy; sleeps like a log," she said as she started to descend the stairs.

Nora giggled at what her mother said.

"What is it that you wanted?"

The question only ignited more giggles from her daughter, which Caitlin wasn't sure was a good or bad thing. Nora was a good kid, and always with the best intentions, like her father, but that did not mean she never made a mess.

"Look what I did," Nora said, taking her mother's hand and dragging her to the living room.

With dread, Caitlin entered the living room, but thankfully everything still looked to be in place and nothing seemed broken or drawn on. As Caitlin continued to survey the room, her eyes finally fell on their dog Mendel, laying calmly by the fireplace, but with a headband with antlers on his head, nonetheless.

The older woman raised her hand to her mouth, laughing quietly to herself before turning to her daughter. "Nora, who is this reindeer in our living room?"

" _Moooom_ ," she drawled out over laughs. "It's Mendel! I put reindeer antlers on him!"

Caitlin looked back at the dog, faking surprise. "Oh dear, it is! Hi, Mendel!" she said, and the dog wagged his tail at her greeting. "Did you dress him up for the party?" Caitlin asked Nora as she gave the dog a good scratch behind the ears for his cooperation.

She nodded. "It's Nate's 1st birthday party, so it's a special occasion."

"Very true!" Caitlin agreed. "And we also have to get the tree decorations on the tree before everyone comes over. Are you going to help me and Daddy?"

Her eyes turned starry. "Yes, I love decorating the tree! When is Daddy getting home?" Nora excitedly asked.

Caitlin looked down at her wrist. "Should be any minute now."

In her excitement, she opened up the decorations box that had been situated in the corner of the room. However, she cocked her head as she picked up a smaller box that was situated within it.

"Mommy?" she let out curiously.

"Yes?" she asked from the other side of the room as she turned on some Christmas music.

"Why does this box say that only Daddy can open it?"

Caitlin turned to find her daughter holding a small box, which indeed said that only Barry could open it written on the top lid. She crouched down, getting on eye level with Nora. "Why don't you ask him when he gets home," she told her, knowing Barry should probably be the one to explain it.

Just then, Barry walked into the living room. "There's two of my favorite people!"

"Daddy!" she happily exclaimed as she jumped into her father's arms. "Did you get the bad guys?"

"As always!" he answered, hugging her tightly before situating her on his hip so he could hug and kiss his wife. "Nate napping?" he asked as he pulled away, repositioning his hold on his oldest as he did.

"Yup, so he should be good for when everyone gets here for his party in a few hours."

"Great," he said before turning back to his daughter in his arms. "What do you have there, Niz?" he asked, eyeing the box in her hand.

The little girl looked down at it, suddenly shy. "Mommy said I should ask you about it, since it says only you should open it."

Barry briefly looked at Caitlin, his eyes soft as he regarded her, before taking Nora over to the couch with him. As they settled onto the seat, the speedster took the little box from his daughter's hands and opened it. He sighed as he wistfully admired the ornament inside.

Holding up the golden, star ornament by it's hook, Barry told Nora its meaning. "This was the last ornament my Mommy gave me before she passed away."

"Grandma Nora?"

"Yeah, the same one you're name after," he told her. "She always said I was her 'shining star' and she happened to give this to me to remind me of it just when I was about your age. It's one of the last things I have from her, so I treasure it greatly, especially since Christmas used to be her favorite time of the year."

Nora had been quiet, listening to her Daddy talk intently. Even if she didn't quite understand the gravity of the situation, she knew enough to know that it was serious.

"But I think I'm going to give it to you now, Niz."

Her green eyes widened. "Really?"

"I trust that you'll take care of it for me, right?"

Her face turned into one with such determination. It was like a mini-version of when Caitlin set her mind on something, so it made his heart squeeze just a little more. "I'll protect it for you, Daddy," she told him with a definitive nod.

He pressed his lips to her forehead. "I know you will. Why don't you hang it up on the tree?"

Excitedly, Nora jumped off her father's lap and ran over to the tree, taking just a couple moments to assess the best position before hanging it delicately from one of the branches.

Barry stood up only for Caitlin to step right into his arms, hers wrapping comfortably around his torso. "You didn't have to do that, but that was really sweet," she whispered into his ear

The speedster hugged his wife back, burying his face into her hair, gathering strength from her love. "I know, but it felt right," he said, leaning back to look at his wife. "Plus, you've allowed me to pass on a little more of my mother into Nora, and even Nate, so I have all of her I'll ever need now."

Caitlin's eyes watered a little. "Ahhh," she quietly let out, fanning her face in an attempt to dry out her eyes as to not ruin her mascara with tears. "Dammit, you're too sweet."

He merely chuckled as he caressed her face. That is, until he noticed something a little peculiar over his wife's shoulder.

"Since when did we have a pet reindeer?" he asked, loudly enough for Nora to hear, and winking at Caitlin.

The little girl's laughter rang throughout the living room, making the parents grin at each other happily. "Daddy, no! That's Mendel!"

"What?!" Barry let out in disbelief, detaching himself from his wife to go over to their dog. "That's not Mendel; Mendel doesn't have antlers."

Nora's giggles intensified. "He has a headband on, silly!"


	8. The Christmas List

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Story inspired by CallMeMiles - thanks for the suggestion!

In between sips of Grandma Esther's eggnog, and in the middle of Joe retelling an old Christmas story of his from when he was a kid, Barry noticed a certain silver-haired rebel was not among the rest of the team. Wth a roll of his eyes, he assumed that she had slipped out, deeming the gathering too lame for her tastes and went off to a bar (It wouldn't have been the first time).

He took that moment to sigh. He liked Frost; she was a great partner on the field and she was fun, but he'd by lying if he didn't admit to missing a certain brunette, especially tonight.

When Frost showed up in her usual punk-rock garb, he was slightly disappointed that he wouldn't be able to see whatever pretty dress Caitlin had picked for the occasion or how she styled her hair. Honestly, the whole evening felt like it lacked the warmth he usually associated with it because he didn't hear her chatting around with Cecile or laughing at something Cisco said.

With another sigh, he went off to the kitchen to throw a napkin away when a piece of white caught his eye outside the window over the sink. _Frost._

"I thought you left," Barry said as he stepped outside, shutting the door behind him.

Frost, who had been leaning her forearms against the deck's railing, merely looked back at him with a shrug. "Was thinking about it, but most of the good places are closing early for the holiday."

The speedster nodded as he walked closer, eyeing her. Despite having the same face as Caitlin, Frost learned to shield her emotions a lot better than her counterpart, but Barry could still tell something was bothering her.

"So why don't you take advantage of the free booze inside then?" he asked as he leaned his own forearms down on the railing next to her.

"Don't feel like it."

"Why not? You can't be any more embarrassing than Ralph was a couple years ago."

"Because being inside means hearing all of you blabber on about boring Christmas memories I'll never get to have," she quipped, eyes lighting up to their fierce white.

Barry raised a brow. "Frost…"

She quickly stood up. "I'm out. See ya when I see ya," she said before hurrying down the deck's stairs and out the backyard's fence gate.

The speedster knew he could catch up with her if he wanted, but he also knew he would get nowhere with her right now. Frost needed to - for lack of a better word - cool off.

...

Early the next morning, Barry found himself in front of Caitlin and Frost's apartment. With a timid knock, he waited for someone to answer the door. Though with a quick glance at his wristwatch, he realized that maybe he should've tried coming over a little later; they might still be sleeping.

"Barry?"

He looked up at the voice, a smile overcoming his face as he saw Caitlin poking her head out between the door. "Cait...hey."

Her eyebrows furrowed as she regarded him. "Is something wrong?"

He blew out a breath, shrugging. "Maybe? I don't know. Frost seemed upset last night, so I was hoping to talk to her."

Caitlin opened the door up further, revealing herself in a thin silky blue robe that stopped mid-thigh, causing Barry's heart to skip a beat. "Frost usually doesn't get up for another couple hours, but maybe we can speed up the process over a cup of coffee?"

He rapidly nodded his head. "Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever you think will work."

.

"She started getting fussy earlier this week," Caitlin started as they both sat down with their coffees.

"Last night she said something about not wanting to listen to Christmas memories she'll never get to have."

His personal physician sighed. "I had a feeling it was something like that. It's why I let her go to the party last night, hoping that she'd be able to start some type of memories of her own...but I guess that didn't go well," she wryly commented before taking a tip of her coffee.

"So she hasn't mentioned anything to you?"

She sadly shook her head. "No, not a word. I'm just going off the vibe I feel from her."

Barry let out a groan.

"I can only think that she feels like she missed out on a lot of Christmas fun, like having snowball fights, decorating the tree, ice-skating...that sort of thing because she was never a proper kid like you and I."

Barry sat there, taking sips of his own coffee as he thought. The last time Frost was troubled about something like this, he threw her a birthday party. So...what if he did something similar this time too?

"Do you think Frost is going to wake up anytime soon? I have an idea."

"I could try forcing her up," Caitlin offered with a shrug.

"Could you? Please?" he asked, flashing her his puppy-dog eyes.

The doctor's lips were fighting off a grin. "Just beware, she might be really grouchy," she warned, before closing her eyes, willing her counterpart to the surface.

Sure enough, her brunette hair eventually transformed into silver, her eyes flashing white as they opened back up.

"Flash?" she let out miserably. "I knew you were a boy scout, but I didn't think you literally woke up with the rooster," she murmured, holding back a yawn before noticing the short, flimsy material she was dressed in. "Or were you and Caity finally having some fun?" she asked with a jump in her eyebrows.

He could feel his ears get warm, but he tried to ignore it. "Get dressed," he instead ordered his friend.

"Assertive - It's a nice look on you," she praised with a wink as she got up. "So how can I resist," she continued, her hand seductively sweeping over his shoulders as she walked by on her way to the bedroom.

When the bedroom door finally shut, Barry let himself shutter from the lingering touch. He had a feeling this might be a long day, but he was determined to make it worth it.

.

"Where are you taking me?"

Driving, Barry quickly looked over to his passenger. He was smart enough not to laugh - he was lucky that she hadn't fought him (much) when he pushed her out the apartment door and into the car - but he couldn't help but smirk. Frost looked like the poster girl for a petulant child, all slouched in her seat and frowning with her arms crossed.

"You'll see," the speedster cryptically said.

Frost groaned. "I don't like surprises…" she miserably mumbled.

"I think you'll like it," he only said as he turned into the parking lot of their destination.

The cold meta was quick to crane her head around, looking for signs or clues to their destination before her head shot back, confused. "The Snow Zone?" she let out dubiously as Barry parked his car.

He nodded his head. "Yup, come on!" he told her, quickly exiting the car to not give her a chance to debate him on it.

He was about halfway to the entrance before he heard his car door open and then close with a grumble he knew all too well. Smiling to himself, he just kept walking until he reached the ticket booth. "Two tickets please"

.

"For someone who has never skated before, you're doing pretty well," Barry commented as they glided around the rink.

"I regularly slide down my own ice-slides," she boredly boasted, before slipping a little bit backwards, prompting Barry to push her forward to balance her out again.

"Not on skates, though," he interjected knowingly, and she glared at him, only causing him to laugh.

"It's not...terrible though," Frost unwillingly admitted.

Barry's smile turned genuine. "I'm glad you don't hate it."

"Eh whatever. So why ice-skating?"

He shrugged. "I've been meaning to go ice-skating this season, but just haven't had the time, so I thought why not today?"

"Wouldn't you rather go with _Caity_?" she teasingly asked, though her tone was slightly bitter.

"I've skated with Caitlin before," he explained to her. "Plus, I'd like to spend some time with you too, Frost."

She snorted, obviously not believing him, but she didn't press further. "So, how long are we supposed to do this for? Or are we just supposed to keep skating in circles until our legs give out?"

Barry shook his head, laughing to himself. "You want to do something else?"

"You thinking of something in particular?"

He smirked. "Well…"

.

"Sledding?" she deadpanned, eyeing the plastic discs on the snow in front of her unsurely.

"The Snow Zone ticket comes with skating and sledding," Barry told her as he settled himself into a sled. "Come on, Frost," he said, patting the empty one next to him.

She crossed her arms. "This looks childish."

"Or you're just afraid I'll beat you down the hill."

"What?! No!"

"Then prove it," Barry said with a jump of his brows as he propelled himself forward, starting to slide down the hill.

"Hey!" he could hear Frost yell after him. He looked back to see her coming down on her own sled, a look of determination coming over her face as she trailed after him.

He winningly grinned, happy to have been able to goad her into sledding. However, as he reached the bottom, he barely got out of his sled before he was quickly and ceremoniously struck by Frost's sled. " _Ow_ …" he groaned, rubbing at where it had hit him in the shin.

"Ha!" Frost let out as she got up from her seat. "That's what you get for cheating! Now, come on! We're doing a best of 3," she told him, already making her way back up the hill.

Despite the pain he was momentarily in, Barry smiled in satisfaction. She was getting in the spirit of things.

"Hey, Hero!" she hollered from on top of the hill. "You forfeiting?"

"You wish!" he yelled back, scrambling to get up and grab his sled to runup the hill after her.

The two ended up sliding down the hill more than originally intended, mainly because they were both cheating to win, resulting in more sled runs needed to call a true winner. But soon the will to beat each other downhill escalated to tossing snowballs at each other and seeing how often they could hit the other. (For Frost's sake, Barry didn't use his powers to dodge). Eventually, however, the two ceased fire and called a drawl as they laid sprawled out and breathless in the snow.

"My lungs are burning!"

Barry chuckled, panting. "That's how you know it was fun _and_ memorable."

Frost shook her head. "I know what you're doing, Barry. And I know you probably won't admit it, but…" - she stopped only to dramatically sigh - " _thanks_ …"

His grin widened. "The day is still young though, Ms. Frost," he said, getting up and extending a hand to her. "And there are still a couple more things I want to do."

With a roll of her eyes, Frost took his hand and let him pull her up, only for her to smash a handful of snow right into his face as she got to her feet. "Fine, but only if you never call me 'Ms. Frost' ever again."

Sputtering out the snow, the speedster gave her a thumbs-up. "Got it."

.

"We can't decorate it if you don't help me take it up to my apartment."

Frost shook her head. "Sorry, just reliving how I wrestled that lumberjack asshole to get this."

"He was just trying to cut it down for us!"

"Then why did he fight back?"

"Maybe for his life?" Barry suggested.

She shrugged. "At least we got it for free _and_ I got to cut it down myself."

"Technically, you stole this, which is another reason why we need to take it up to my apartment, like _now_."

The cold meta waved her hand, bristling the statement by. "You need to live a little more dangerously, Flash," she told him as she finally picked up her side of the tree.

Barry snorted. "You tell Caitlin that and I don't think she'll ever let you back out."

The speedster managed to catch her rolling her eyes before the tree obscured his view. "Caity worries too much," she said as they started walking towards the building.

With some more squabbling and maneuvers akin to the _Friends'_ pivot scene, they were able to carry the tree up a few flights of stairs and to Barry's apartment.

"I wish we could have taken the elevator," Frost bemoaned as she threw herself onto the nearby couch once they stood the tree into the tree holder.

"Well _someone_ just _had_ to pick the enormous one."

" _Pick whichever one you want, Frost_ ," she mimicked what he had told her with an obnoxiously deep voice that he presumed was supposed to sound like him.

He shook his head, refusing to answer back to that since he _did_ say that, but he also didn't think she'd pick out what she did. Instead, he went to turn on some Christmas music and dragged out his decorations from the storage closet down the hall.

"Before we begin," Barry began, "I have an ornament that I want you to start with first," he told her as he handed her a small little box, practically bouncing on his heels with excitement as he waited for her to open it.

Slowly, she opened the lid, her face impassive as she studied the ornament. "Frost's 1st Christmas," she read aloud, her fingers running over the engraving and along the sides that resembled a snowflake. "Jeez, Flash...no wonder she's in love with you," she breathed out.

"Hmm?" he hummed, a quizzical look on his face as he regarded her.

"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head.

"Do you like it? Is it alright? It was obviously done last minute, so let me know if there's a mistake."

"This...this is really nice. Cheesy. But nice. Thanks."

His smile grew. "You're welcome! Now come on, let's decorate this monster."

So the duo spent the next half hour or so stringing the lights around the tree and hanging the ornaments among the branches. There were a few arguments and disagreements regarding the placement of things, but for the most part they worked with a reasonable rhythm to complete the task, just like they did on the field against criminals.

"Not too bad," Frost murmured as they took a step back to marvel at how the tree turned out. She then turned to Barry. "So, you have anything else on that list of yours?"

"You sick of decorating yet?"

Frost's eyes thinned.

.

"My gingerbread house is so much better than yours!"

"With the way the red dye ran down the sides, yours looks like a murder house!"

"That was _the point_!"

"Well mine is more festive," Barry argued.

"Pffft! Yours is lame and shows no sign of originality."

The speedster rolled his eyes. "Fine, whatever. You won."

Frost's face immediately lightened up. "Boo ya" she celebrated, and Barry couldn't stay sour for long once he saw the happiness it gave her. "Oooh, hey, you think you're so slick, Flash."

Barry immediately titled his head, confused. "What are you talking about…?"

"Getting me under the mistletoe and all," she singingly pointed out, looking upwards.

He followed her gaze, his mouth immediately gapping. "I - I didn't put that up there. Cisco must have put it up for some prank or something. We - we don't have to do that."

"You're going to deprive me of a classic Christmas tradition?" she asked, though her lips were teetering, as if she were trying to fight back a smirk.

"I...I can't tell if you're serious or not…"

"Oh, I'm _dead_ serious, Flash," she said with a devious glint to her eyes, grabbing the front of his shirt and pulling him closer to her.

He gulped. "O-okay."

The smirk finally slid all the way into place as she closed the distance between them. At first, her lips were stone cold, but under the friction of the kiss, they got warmer and more inviting. He found himself deepening the kiss as a growing spark ignited through his body as if he'd been struck by lightning once again.

They finally tore themselves apart, but instead of the icy white eyes that he last saw, he was met with overly warm chocolate brown ones. "Cait?"

She pulled back a little more, her front teeth digging into her bottom lip. "I'm so sorry, but Frost forced me out..She - she thought we'd both enjoy this more apparently…"

The shock of seeing her in front of him slowly wore off, and a blossoming grin began to take its place, along with a bold feeling of confidence. "I did enjoy it," he admitted. "I've...I've been wanting to do that for awhile now actually."

"Oh," she let out in surprise, her eyebrows kissing her hair. "Well, um, yeah, me - me too," she shyly confessed, her own grin sprouting.

Barry shook his head with a laugh. "I'll have to thank Frost next time I see her."

Caitlin looked to the side. "Frost says you're even now after today."

He could only grin.

"So…" Caitlin started, taking in the apartment and its holiday charm, "did you have anything else planned after gingerbread houses?"

"I was going to play some Christmas movies for Frost to watch."

"Well, could I watch them with you instead?"

His eyes softened and his heart felt like it enlarged as he wrapped an arm across her shoulders, guiding her to the couch. "Of course."


	9. Hallmark Bargain

Caitlin found herself cocooned on the couch early in the morning with her big throw blanket draped over her body and a warm cup of coffee in her hand. She turned on the TV, flipping through the stations, only to stop on the Hallmark channel. With Christmas approaching, the Christmas movies were playing non-stop and she felt festivus. Not to mention, one of her favorites was playing: _Christmas Joy_.

"What are you watching?" a groggy, bleary eyed Barry who was still in his pajamas asked as he appeared behind the couch. He scratched at his disheveled hair while his eyes squinted to decipher what was on TV - he looked adorable.

"A Hallmark movie," she said with a shrug.

"You're one of those people, huh?" he asked with a smirk. "Is this what they mean when they say you don't know a person until you live with them?"

Playfully, Caitlin tossed an extra couch pillow to his face. "Shush! We're all allowed to have guilty pleasures."

He only chuckled as he learned his forearms along the back of the couch. "They're just all the same: Big city hotshot finds herself going back to her small hometown, where she meets a guy that teaches her the meaning of Christmas and so she leaves her whole city life behind her to stay with the dude."

"In this movie, she still gets to work for her company, but she's offered a position at the new location that happened to be closer to where the hometown is," Caitlin told him matter-of-factly.

"Ooh, _sor-ray_ ," he let out sarcastically as he held his hands up in defense. "Still, they all surround like five different plots, if that."

"Sometimes it's nice to just watch something simple and predictable when we live the lives we live."

He sagely nodded. "I can get that."

"Watch with me then?" she asked, lifting the one side of her blanket to make room for him.

He made a dissatisfied face. "I don't know…"

"I'll pay you in free hugs and cuddles," she offered as she protruded her bottom lip out, pouting.

She could tell his defenses were already crumbling.

"Throw in free kisses too?"

"Only during commercials and the end credits," she countered with a raise in her brow.

He laughed as he shook his head. "Fine, deal," Barry agreed as he jumped over the back of the couch, settling himself under the covers next to her and nestling his head against her clavicle. "You drive a hard bargain."


	10. Three Kisses

**I – Christmas Eve**

Smilingly shaking his head over something Cisco just said, Barry walked into the West family kitchen to get more wine. His demeanor instantly sobered up, however, once he noticed his personal physician at the sink, elbows deep in water as she washed the dishes.

"Cait!"

She briefly looked at him over her shoulder. "Oh, hey, Barry," she greeted him nonchalantly, never missing a beat as she continued scrubbing at a dish from dinner.

He came up next to her. "What are you doing? You're the guest, you're not supposed to be doing our dishes."

She just laughed. "You guys have been so good to me over the years, so the least I could do is wash some dishes that had been piling up."

"Let me do it," he insisted, reaching for the scrub brush.

She held the brush out of his reach. "It's honestly fine," she told him. "I'm almost done anyway," she pointed out, showing the very few plates and utensils left in the sink.

Sighing, the speedster could tell he wasn't going to be able to convince her. "Then I'll dry," he told her as he picked up a towel.

"Fine," she said with a shrug.

"Fine," Barry indifferently repeated as he started picking up the dishes that Caitlin had already put on the drying rack. And although it was one of his least favorite chores as a kid, he was glad he had offered, especially once he noticed a smile slowly take over Caitlin's face out of the corner of his eye. It stirred a warm, fuzzy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"You missed a spot," Caitlin then told him after he had wiped down the last plate.

He scrunched his brows down, inspecting it closely. "What? Where?" he asked, only for Caitlin to laughingly flick some water in his face from the tips of her fingers.

Barry threw his head back in surprise before placing his hand under the running water, wetting it just enough so that he could flick water into his friend's face too.

"Hey!" she lightly shouted over a giggle.

"You started it," he childishly countered, poking his tongue out for good measure.

"Real mature," she responded, before sticking her own tongue out at him, causing the two to laugh. However, it wasn't long before Barry noticed something over their heads, abruptly ending his laughter.

"What?" Caitlin questioned, noticing his demeanor drastically change before she followed his gaze, her breath hitching as she caught sight of the green plant above them. " _Oh._ "

Barry cleared his throat, his gaze constantly looking at anything but her for too long. "We – we don't have to, you know," he said, gesturing towards the plant, " _that_ …"

"It's just a silly tradition."

"Absolutely."

"And we're good friends."

"Exactly."

"So, I don't see why it would matter if we kissed for a second."

"Righ – _wait, what now?_ " he croaked, his brows hitting his hairline.

The young doctor shrugged. "I don't think it would be a big deal."

The speedster's Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. "Me – me neither…"

"So doing this" – she paused to reach up on her tippy toes, hand coiling around his neck before pressing an innocent enough peck against his mouth, lingering for maybe a second too long to be considered innocent, only to lower herself back, tongue swiping over her lips as she stared at him hesitantly with her doe brown eyes – "it's - it's not a big deal," she whispered.

The feeling of her mouth was still lingering with a pleasant tingling sensation, the back of his neck where her fingers laid was burning, and his heart was beating manically inside of his chest. "Yeah…" he softly agreed. "No big deal."

**II – New Year's**

They were nearing the end of another year with only a couple more minutes left to go. Team Flash was gathered in the Cortex to ring in the new year together while also staying alert to any major crimes that may occur during the same time. They had even set up tables with food and drinks while one of the monitors played a New Year's Celebration special.

"Not a bad year, huh?"

Barry turned to find Caitlin walking up next to him. "Uh, yeah, I guess," he answered, ineloquently at that as he rubbed the back of his neck.

Truth be told, his mind went straight to the brief kiss they had shared a week ago. It wasn't supposed to be a big deal, but it was. He couldn't stop thinking about it. But Caitlin seemed unphased, acting like she normally did, so it seemed like he was the only one that felt something shift.

"Less crime and villains," she commented.

He nodded along in acknowledgement. "A bit boring though," Barry admitted. "I felt like we didn't do a lot of things for fun with the extra free time."

"Maybe that should be your New Year's resolution then," she said, playfully bumping into his side.

Barry laughed, his nervousness easing, if just for that moment. "It could be, for sure. But what about you, huh? What's your New Year's resolution going to be?"

She blew out a breath, shaking her head. "I don't know…maybe getting myself out there again?" she answered, eyeing him with uncertainty.

The speedster raised his brow, unsure what she meant.

"You know, try my hand at dating again. It's been a while."

He suddenly felt like he had swallowed a brick. "Oh…that's – that's… _nice._ "

"Yeah…I think I'm truly ready to find someone and settle down," she told him, lips spreading into a small smile. "I just hope that he's ready for that step too," she added with a shrug, biting down on her lower lip.

Barry's eyes flickered to her lip, remembering its taste and how it was cool to the touch but electric all the same. "He'd be crazy not to be ready if he met you," he nearly whispered.

Her eyes turned shiny, her mouth quivering as she sent him a grateful smile.

"10 – 9 – 8…"

"Ohhh! It's almost time to ring in the New Year!" Caitlin exclaimed, turning to the broadcast as their teammates continued to count down.

Any other year, Barry would begin to participate himself, but right now he couldn't seem to look away from his personal physician. Seeing her face light up with enthusiastic optimism for the upcoming year was breathtakingly endearing and he had the hugest inclination to just wrap her in his arms and hold on to her like this forever.

"3 – 2 – 1…"

A chorus of their teammates joyfully shouting "Happy New Year!" was heard before they all turned to their partners to share a kiss. It wasn't until then that Barry and Caitlin realized everyone present were paired off with one another – Joe & Cecile, Cisco & Kamilla, Ralph & Sue, and even Allegra & Chester. They were the only single ones left of the bunch.

Barry and Caitlin looked at each other, amused yet bashful.

"Isn't – isn't there a superstition that failing to kiss someone on New Year's ensures a year of loneliness?" the speedster questioned.

Caitlin laughed. "Yes, I think there is..."

He scratched the side of his head. "And considering, you know, you want to find someone this year, you should probably-"

"Kiss someone?" Caitlin finished with a knowing smile.

Barry nodded his head swiftly, thickly swallowing. " _Yeah…_ "

"Well, the world didn't implode the last time, I guess," she amusedly stated, before leaning up and kissing him once again, the electricity of it hitting him like a static shock. However, the kiss was over before Barry could even react. It was so brief, in fact, that he had thought he imagined it, but Caitlin's pinkening cheeks gave her away as she looked over him shyly.

"Happy New Year's, Barry," she softly told him, hand running down the length of his arm, before walking over to where the rest of the team had congregated, exchanging hugs all around.

Barry let out a staggered breath as he watched her walk away. He felt shell-shocked and disoriented and his heart was racing so hard that he felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest, but not just from the kiss, but what the kiss had uncovered in the recesses of his mind.

Kissing Caitlin was no longer a big deal, it was a _ginormous_ one.

**III - Because**

"Barry?"

The speedster's heart stumbled over its next beat at the sound of her voice. "Ba-ck here!" he hollered out to his visitor, cringing at the croak in his voice.

His pulse quickened as he heard her heels clack against the station's floor, his breath stolen when her friendly face appeared around the corner, her signature smile dazzling the dreariness of his lab.

It had been three days since New Years, but with each passing day he felt like he was being overcome with more and more feelings for his personal physician. At first his heart would just race when she was around, but now his palms were sweaty and his legs felt like jello and it was becoming increasingly difficult to form coherent sentences.

"Hey," he softly let out.

"Hey," Caitlin greeted back, her smile widening as she set her purse onto the table nearby along with her coat. "So what's the problem you're having?" she asked, rolling up the sleeves of her blouse, her inquiring eyes scoping out what he was working on.

He gulped as she walked to his side, her perfume intoxicating his senses. "The - this person's blood is just...weird…"

Her eyebrows cutely furrowed, her lips pursed in confusion. "Weird how?" she asked, picking up the one test tube to study the blood sample.

"It keeps changing blood-type," he elaborated just as the color of the tube morphed from pure red to a light yellow with a red cluster. Caitlin's eyes widened at the phenomenon.

"All the tubes keep changing from this blood sample. One minute it'll be AB Rh+ and in the next it'll be completely different."

Caitlin shook her head in shock, mesmerized by the tube before her. "Have you studied the blood under the microscope to see how they mutate?"

"Y-yeah, but stuff like that is not exactly my forte, which is why I called you," he answered, rubbing the back of his neck.

She flashed him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out," she told him, laying a comforting hand over his on the table, but the suddenness of the affection in turn caused him to jolt from her touch like he had been burned.

She frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," he stuttered out before swiftly shaking his head resignedly. "No."

"No?"

He sighed, his body deflating. "No, I'm not okay."

Caitlin immediately put down the test tube that she had been inspecting, giving him her undivided attention, the gears behind her beautiful chocolate eyes running as she quickly assessed him from where she stood. "What's wrong?"

"I…" he started, but trailed off, not knowing how to go about this. Caitlin was one of his best friends, and someone he usually could tell anything to, but that could all change if he admitted his growing feelings. But these feelings felt like they were demanding to be let out.

Without thinking much further, Barry cupped her face in his hands, pulling her lips up to his mouth, kissing her soundly and hoping to convey all what he was unable to say moments before. And just like the previous times, her lips sent an electric coolness though his body, and as she started to kiss him back, the sensation only increased tenfold, making him furrow his brows and curl his toes. The kiss was simply... _ethereal_...

"What...what was that for?" she asked, breathless, her eyes bewildered and hazy.

"Just because," Barry said with a shrug as he withdrew his hands from her face, trying to give her room to process. "I didn't want to wait for another excuse or a special circumstance just to kiss you again."

"You wanted to kiss me again?" she shyly wondered.

Barry nodded, nervously letting out a chuckle. "Since Christmas Eve...and, if I'm being honest with myself, I may have wanted to kiss you before that too…"

Her breath hitched. " _Oh…_ "

He nervously licked his lips. "Look, I get if you don't feel the same, I mean, you said this would be no big deal, but I had to go and make it a big deal. Plus, I know you said you wanted to get out there again this year and settle down-"

"I was hoping that person would be you."

He swallowed. "You - you did?"

She nodded, smiling as her eyes grew watery.

"But you - you didn't seem phased, like at all. I thought I was going to trip over my own feet every time I was around you and you never missed a beat."

Caitlin giggled, wiping at a lone tear that escaped. "Just because I wasn't tripping over my feet or my words doesn't mean I wasn't freaking out internally. I guess I'm just a little better at hiding my feelings than you, Mr. Allen."

He smirked, though his eyes shone with so much affection. "I guess so, Dr. Snow."

She smiled at him, one filled with so much happiness that Barry couldn't help but mirror it himself. However, her attention soon caught that of the test tubes on the table nearby. "Why don't we figure this changing blood thing out, but then afterwards…"

"A date?"

Her grin only grew. "I'd really love that."

"Yes, me too."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, leave a comment to let me know what you think! :)


	11. Santa's Not Real?!

Barry walked down the hall where his children's rooms were, wanting to quietly peek in to see if they were sleeping yet.

As he looked into Nora's room, the speedster chuckled to himself as he saw her sprawled out comically with her blanket hanging hazardously off her bed. He amusingly shook his head as he fixed the blanket, wondering how she even managed to get in such a position as he laid a gentle kiss against her forehead.

He then checked in on Nate, and the little guy was curled up innocently in his bed. He looked like he hadn't moved an inch since he and Caitlin had tucked him in earlier. Barry lightly brushed through his son's hair, marvelled for a moment how dark it was getting now that he was getting older, before kissing him too.

Entering the master suite, Caitlin looked up from the book she was reading. "They finally asleep?"

He nodded. "Out like lights."

"Time to put out the presents then," she stated as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, getting up.

"Actually," Barry started, cocking his head to the side, "I was wondering if we could do something a little bit _different_ this year…?" he suggested with a small shrug.

Caitlin raised a brow. "Different... _how?_ " she measuredly inquired.

"I know this is like _our thing_ ," he stressed, "but Cisco told me earlier that Nate had asked him for a spy camera to install in the tree. He wants to see if Santa is real…"

His wife sighed. "He is 8, Barry. Maybe it's time he finds out."

"He could still have a good year or two left…"

She strode up to him slowly, wrapping her arms around his waist. "You have to let him grow up, honey."

"But Nora already did," Barry whined.

Caitlin laughed, fondly rolling her eyes, but nodded nonetheless, conceding. "What did you have in mind?"

Barry's face perked with excitement. "Okay, so, I got the full Santa ensemble," he admitted, untangling himself from his wife to grab a red Santa bag from under their bed, "and I thought that maybe if I put this on and deliver the presents with this that Nate will think I'm Santa and continue believing."

She looked at him for a moment, and he could tell she wanted to say something, but ultimately she held her tongue. "Okay..." she said instead, clapping her hands together. "Then you better go get changed. I'll start putting the presents in the bag."

"Thank you, thank you thank you!" Barry quickly trilled, coming forward to cup her face, kissing her mightingly. "You're the best!" he said over his shoulder as he excitedly dashed to the bathroom with his costume.

Getting the costume all on was simple enough. The body suit he got to give him the more traditional Santa bod was the hardest to strap together. Despite all Santa suits looking rather the same, the speedster liked to think his was more authentic looking than the typical mall Santa ones. The suit's material wasn't cheap and the fake beard didn't look like cotton balls.

"So, how do I look?" he asked as he walked back into the bedroom.

Caitlin was kneeling on the ground, nearly done packing the presents in the bag, when she turned to view him. Immediately a giggle fell from her lips as she rose to her feet. "Oh my…" she let out as she slowly made her way to him, her eyes looking over him humorously. "It looks better than I thought it would, but I have to say...I still prefer your other red suit, Mr. Allen," she told him with a wink and a loving pat to his chest.

"Mr. _Claus_ ," he corrected, chuckling as she rolled her eyes.

"Well, Mr. Claus, go deliver the presents. I want to get to bed early."

With a nod, Barry picked up the Santa bag filled to its capacity with their presents and slung it over his shoulder. As he took a step forward, however, he teetered to the one side, the weight of the presents throwing him off. "Whoa…" he let out, before righting himself quickly.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, her eyes assessing him with worry.

"I'm fine," Barry assured her, waving it off. "I just wasn't ready for the weight. I'm good now," he insisted as he then walked to their door, showing her that it was fine, though her face still held a sense of unease. "I'll be back soon."

Quietly exiting their bedroom, Barry tiptoed down the hallway, listening for any noises that would indicate his kids had woken since he last checked in on them, but all was quiet. He smiled with satisfaction as he reached the stairs, trying to take his time with the tremendous weight of the bag on his shoulder and the heaviness of his Santa boots.

When he finally got to the living room, he was grateful that it was only illuminated by the glowing Christmas tree in the corner. The darkness and shadows might help him pull this off. So, with the confidence he assumed Santa would carry, he walked towards the tree, trying to puff out his chest and walk tall. But just as he was about to take the bag down to begin unloading the gifts, he remembered the cookies that waited for him nearby. He thought he would start with that seeing that he was already growing an appetite from the little work he did - no wonder Santa needed fuel after every house!

However, while turning back towards the coffee table where the cookies and milk were neatly laid out, the momentum threw him off kilter once more, hitting the branches of the tree, making some of the decorations fall off with small thuds.

Barry's eyes widened as he noticed what he did. His attention quickly went to the stairs to see if anyone had heard and was going to come down to investigate. He stood there for a minute, just waiting, but nothing happened. Barry let out a sigh of relief, before gently placing the bag down and away from the tree.

 _Close one_ , he thought as he took a much needed bite of the cookies, and nearly moaned from the savory sweetness. Caitlin really outdid herself this time. He really did hit the jackpot by marrying her. And no, not just because she made amazing food, but like her willingness to go along with these ridiculous plans of his. He smiled, taking a swig of the milk to wash the cookies down. He'd have to think of a way to properly thank her later.

Having fulfilled one Santa duty, Barry then turned back to the tree to complete the other. Unfortunately, as he stepped forward, one of the fallen ornaments got caught under his foot, propelling him forward, making him dive headfirst into the tree, creating a huge bang as he and the tree both fell to the ground.

Before he could blink, a swirl of pink lightning was wrapping their extra Christmas lights tightly around him as two pairs of feet thundered down the stairs to see what all the commotion was about.

"Nora!" a hysterical Nate hollered as he ran in. "Stoooooop! You're tying up Santa!"

Caitlin then entered the room, turning on the main light. Once she saw the situation before her, her hand immediately went to her mouth. He thought she'd be mad, but it looked like she was instead holding back a laugh.

"It's not Santa," Nora told her younger brother, before ripping his hat and beard off his head, but instantly did a double take as she did. "Wait, what... _Dad?_ "

"Ow…" Barry briefly whined - the beard had been semi-glued to his face. "But...heh...hi kids…"

Nate's eyes were wide. "Dad?" he started, his voice high in awe, "are you Santa Claus too?!"

Caitlin finally let out the laugh that she was holding back as she laid comforting hands on her son's shoulders. "No, Nate, your father is not Santa Claus."

The little man deflated. "Then...then why is he dressed like that?"

Caitlin sent Barry a knowing look over the head of their son, causing the speedster to sigh. His hand went to nervously rub the back of his neck. He knew he had to fess up.

Phasing out of the Christmas light restraints and taking off the belly, the speedster went over to the couch, gesturing for his son. "Come here, buddy."

Nate padded his way over to his father and Barry brought him to his lap. He couldn't help but wonder how long it'd be before he wouldn't be able to hold him like this anymore, but pushed that to the side for now.

"Uncle Cisco told me about the spy camera you installed."

Nate's eyes widened before he shamefully looked down. "Sorry...but - but Robbie at school said that Santa wasn't real, so I wanted to catch him to show Robbie he was wrong."

"I get it," he told his son, fondly rustling the back of Nate's head. "But I think it's time you knew that…" - and it was hard for Barry to say at first, especially since this truth made his little baby all the more grown up - "Santa Claus isn't real."

Barry's heart nearly broke as Nate slumped in his lap. "He isn't?" he sadly inquired.

Caitlin then walked over, kneeling in front of Nate. "Santa isn't real, but that doesn't mean the magic of Christmas isn't," she told him. "Being with family who love you is the real gift, and you'll always have that, right here..." she said, pointing to his heart.

Nate nodded thoughtfully at his mother, processing it all, before quietly asking. "Do I still get real presents though?"

Both parents laughed, before reassuring the little boy.

"You okay?" Barry eventually asked as Nate grew quiet once again.

Nate nodded his head, shrugging. "Yeah, I guess…"

Barry leaned over to kiss the side of Nate's head. "Why don't you guys go back to bed?" he suggested to Nate, and also Nora, who had been quiet in the corner, fixing the tree, as they talked to her little brother.

The parents watched as their two kids ushered towards the stairs, but not before Barry called out to Nora last second.

"Hey, Niz…" he said, causing the teenager to backtrack into the living room to face her father, "thanks for fixing the tree," he sincerely told her, "but also good job handling the situation. I'm really proud of you."

Her face broke out into a huge smile, beaming. "Thanks, Dad," she sheepishly said, before practically skipping out of the room.

"They're both growing up so much," Caitlin commented, following Barry's gaze as he watched their children go up the stairs.

"I know," Barry said with a sad sigh, before turning to his wife, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "You want to have another one?"

She threw her head back with a laugh. "That boat has sailed, my love," she told him, but her eyes were soft as she regarded him. "Though there is a bonus to them getting older."

"Enlighten me."

"More time for just us. Together. _Alone…_ "

Barry's eyes twinkled as he brought her into his arms. "I like the sound of that _very much_ …"

She smiled into a kiss. "Come on, let's put the presents out, _Mr. Claus._ "

"Lets," he answered her before chuckling. "I'm obviously disastrous when I try it alone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're reading this, PLEASE COMMENT! Let me know what you thought about this oneshot. I definitely see Barry being the one that has a hard time letting his kids grow up lol!


	12. A Girlfriend Gift

Barry and Caitlin were currently in his lab at the CCPD, wrapped up in each other's arms with enormous smiles on their faces. They had just come back from having lunch together - their _first_ lunch date as a couple - and he was having such a hard time letting her go back to work. He had so much serotonin flooding his system from just being around her. He's had a week to process this new step in their relationship, but the fact that he could hold her like this still made his mind short circuit.

"Hey Rookie, you have a minute?"

The speedster softly groaned, slumping against Caitlin who merely giggled at his reaction to their friend's entrance.

"Oh hey, Caitlin," Ralph greeted as he noticed her, flashing her a smile.

Shooting Barry a look of reluctance, she extracted her arms from around his waist. "I'll let you boys at it," she said, giving him an affectionate pat on the chest. "Emergencies aside, I'll see you tonight though, right?"

Barry swiftly nodded his head. "Yeah, of course," he answered breathily, finding his breath constantly stolen from him when she was around.

"Good," she said with a sweet smile before laying a small peck against his lips. "See you later," she told them, waving goodbye as she left.

Ralph watched Barry tracingly watch Caitlin leave. "You guys are disgustingly adorable together."

The speedster rolled his eyes as he walked over to his desk, organizing some recent files.

"It takes guts though."

Barry's eyebrow quirked at his associate. "To finally tell each other how we feel?"

"Well, _that_ too," Ralph answered. "But I was referring more to the fact that you got together so close to Christmas. I mean, I always refrained from getting together with someone too close to Christmas or Valentine's Day... or even their birthday if it could be helped..."

"And you wonder why you've been single for so long," he murmured with a shake of his head. "What's the big deal anyway?"

"Well, I guess in your case it doesn't matter. I'm sure your Christmas gift for her would've been appropriate as a friend or a boyfriend."

Barry's eyes bulged, his body freezing. " _Shoot_ ," he said under his breath.

"No?" Ralph questioned, his voice a little smug. "What did you get her?"

The speedster sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "A baking cookbook," he reluctantly told him.

The taller man threw his back with a laugh.

"She likes baking," Barry quietly said to try and justify his gift.

"That's the type of gift you give your grandma, Rookie. Not your friend, let alone your _girlfriend_."

Anxiety started to rise within Barry's chest. Christmas was just two days away, and if his initial gift was not good enough, would he even have time to find a good replacement? "Then what do I get her?!"

" _Jewelry_ ," Ralph flatly replied. "Jeez, if I didn't know you, I'd think you've never been in a relationship before, let alone married."

Barry rolled his eyes. "I know most women like that, but Caitlin doesn't care that much for jewelry."

The other man winced, visibly racking his brain for another alternative. "Um...um...what about…" - he paused as a slow-forming smirk came over his features - " _lingerie_."

"She has to open this up in front of my family, man!" Barry hollered, his ears flaming bright red just thinking about it.

"Right, right…" Ralph lowly murmured, again in deep thought. "What about...a purse or something? I don't know!"

It was then an idea struck his mind. "That might work...with a twist…" he said, pulling on his coat and ushering out of his lab to go shop, too preoccupied with his idea to even say goodbye to his friend.

Ralph stood there, arms raised in exasperation as he watched his friend go. "You're welcome!" he hollered after his speedy friend. "Not like I needed your help for anything either," he murmured to himself, before shrugging it off. Young love.

.

It was Christmas day morning and everyone was gathered around the tree at the West household. Joe was sipping on his coffee from the comfort of the lounge chair while Cecile began distributing everyone's gifts. Cecile's daughter Joanie was on the couch with Wally, Iris, and Iris' new boyfriend, talking about all of their various journeys their jobs had taken them since last year. Then there was Barry, sitting on the floor with Caitlin in between his legs, watching little Jenna fondly as she began to open her gifts.

Caitlin laughed at Jenna's exuberant reaction to a toy she had gotten, causing the speedster to grin to himself at the beautiful sound. Happily, he wrapped his arms around her stomach, pulling her just a little closer before laying a kiss to the back of her head.

She turned her attention away from Jenna to coyly eye him, her honey-brown eyes twinkling in the sunlight that was streaming over her face. "What are you up to, Mr. Allen?" she smilingly whispered.

He quietly chuckled, trying not to disturb what everyone else was doing. "Nothing," he told her. "I'm just really happy you're here, Dr. Snow."

He really was. She had been over at the West house more times than he could count, even on holidays, but this felt _different_ , and not just because they were a couple now. It felt like everything in the multiverse was finally clicking into place. It felt _right_ , and he felt truly at peace for the first time in so long.

Caitlin's face softened as her hands covered his, giving them a reassuring squeeze while she never took her eyes off of him. "I'm happy too."

A brilliant grin overtook his face, glee swirling around in his chest.

"Caitlin, this one is for you," Cecile said, pushing the bulky present over to the doctor. "Watch," she warned, "that thing is _heavy_!"

Suddenly his glee hit the breaks, coming to an abrupt stop in the pit of his stomach.

"Ooh, it's from Barry," Caitlin remarked as she read the gift tag, dragging it to her just a little closer. "Wow, you weren't kidding, Cecile! This is heavy," she commented. "What did you get me, Barry? A bowling bowl?" she joked, causing everyone else to laugh too as she ripped open the wrapping paper.

The speedster let out a weak laugh, his apprehension growing. After getting this idea, he had felt confident that she'd like it, but now he was doubting it all. More so, he was afraid of what would happen if she didn't like it, or didn't get it. Would everything he felt just moments ago be gone as quickly as it came?

She opened up the box, her head tilting to the side, and he just knew she was pursing her lips into a confused pout. "It's...a purse…?"

Barry cleared his throat. "You - you've been saying that you needed to get a new purse, so I thought I'd get you a new one."

She shook her head. "No, yeah, it's not the purse I'm questioning - which is beautiful by the way - but more so why this purse is so... _heavy,_ " she stressed as she lifted the purse out of the box with both hands. She then looked over her shoulder at him, eyebrow lifted.

"O-open it."

She narrowed her eyes at him, assessing him closely before directing her attention back in front of her. Soon the sound of her unzipping the bag was heard and Barry swore his heart nearly jumped out of his chest.

"Ah, more gifts," she said as she began to take them out one by one. She first took out a salt caramel-scented candle, then a couple bath bombs, the baking cookbook he originally had gotten her, a new blood collection kit, _Grease_ on blu-ray, and then a big mug that read: _I'm a doctor. What's your superpower?_

Caitlin was quiet as she looked at her gifts, her fingers tracing them over carefully. But then her shoulders shook and she started to sniffle. With speed as fast as his powers allowed, he went to kneel in front of her, his face falling and his gut twisting as he witnessed a few tears fall from her eyes.

"Shit, shit, shit," he worriedly trilled, taking the pads of his thumbs to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Cait. I'll get you a better gift."

She then shook her head, a smile breaking over her face. "No, no, Barry, honey...these - these are happy tears."

"Happy tears?" he asked in disbelief, but the tightening in his chest began to subside.

Her smile only grew. "This is just so thoughtful. It's filled with so many little things from our relationship over the years…"

"I paid attention."

She giggled. "You really did. I mean, the candle-"

"was the same one that was burning when we first kissed," he finished for her with a fond smile.

"Yes, it was," she agreed as another few tears fell from her eyes.

"Here," Barry said as he opened up the front pocket of her purse to pull out a handkerchief, "I got you one of these too."

Her laughter doubled as she took the handkerchief and dabbed the wetness from her face. "Didn't want me to keep stealing yours?" she teasingly asked.

"I just figured that if you're dating someone with an 80-year-old soul that you might need it to keep up."

She shook her head, eyes playfully rolling.

"You really like your gifts?" he wondered once again, just to make sure. "I was just so worried it all wasn't going to be enough."

She reached over to lay her hand against his cheek, caressing it lightly. "Come on…" she said gently, offering him that sweet smile of hers that always managed to get him calm, "you know I don't care about the presents."

"I know...it's just-"

"- our _first_ Christmas together _as a couple_ ," she interjected.

A breathy laugh escaped him as he stared at her, amazed at how well she knew him. "Yeah…I didn't want you to think I didn't love you if I only got you something so... simple and un-girlfriend like."

Her lips quirked. " _Love_ , huh?"

"Huh?" Barry looked at her in confusion for a moment before his eyes bulged, not realizing until just then what he had let slip. "I - I...well... _yes_ …I do...love you..." he clumsily confessed, mentally kicking himself in the head for how unromantic it came out. It was definitely not how he envisioned telling her that.

Her lips spread wider, pushing those nerves of his a little to the side. "I love you too, Barry."

"It's not too fast?"

"You're the Flash," she amusingly said with a chuckle. "I'm used to things going a little quicker than usual, but no, this feels... _right_."

A huge sense of relief went through him for the second time that day. It did feel right. It all did.

Smiling, he kissed Caitlin, which she reciprocated readily, before the sounds of Jenna giggling in the background met his ears, reminding him that they were still very much in the presence of his family...at Christmas.

He backed away, blushing, too embarrassed to even look to see if anyone had been watching. "Can't get too carried away right now, can we?"

She shook her head with a small laugh. "We'll have tonight though," she assured him, her eyes getting a tiny bit darker than their usual honey-brown. Her voice then lowered so only he could hear. "...then I can show you _my_ gift for _you_ …and afterwards, we can put one of those bath bombs to good use like we did after our first time."

Barry swallowed hard as he rapidly nodded his head, his imagination already running wild. "Sounds good," he croaked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnd that's the last day! If you're reading this COMMENT! Let me know what you thought of this one. Also, which one was your favorite? Love to hear from you! Keep safe out there! :)

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone! 2020 has been...a year...so I thought I'd try to finish it off with this series once again. I'll try to finish it up by the end of the year. If you have any ideas/suggestions, definitely let me know! Otherwise:COMMENT with your thoughts about this story! I'd love to hear from you! :D


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